Keep The Pulse
by pretzel monster
Summary: Behold: a story of beasts in the form of humans; of beasts that are humans; and of humans that have hearts of beasts…—AU; Team7/Akatsuki


_Behold; a story of beasts in the form of humans  
>Of beasts that are humans<br>And of humans that have hearts of beasts…_

-intro-  
>o:o:o <strong>Keep The Pulse<strong> o:o:o

Fangs and claws;  
><strong>Wings<strong> and **feathers**;  
>Rubbery, slippery;<br>Commands of dangers—

o:o:o _Fangs and Claws_ o:o:o

It was the first shivering breath he made, the first shaky footstep he took, and the first blinding smile he had.

It was that instance. That instance was on that one rainy day, when it wasn't his mother who cradled him, but his older brother, who seemed more than a radiating angel sent to take care of him from the very start of his existence.

That was the truth. His older brother really was _sent to be __**his guardian angel**_ from his birth.

Just not really an angel.

But Sasuke, with his year-old yet magical and hyperactive mind, sometimes wished and imagined even, that Itachi would grow wings and really be what he wanted him to be: his guardian angel. But not someone who would protect him every instance of his life—maybe someone who would be there when he needed to, someone who wouldn't interfere if the situation called for it.

Because, although Sasuke didn't know how to speak properly yet, with only his fits of grumbles and mistaken-for uttered words, he knew in his toddler years that he would have to man up.

_To catch up with him._

As the young Uchiha grew, he learned more and more about his family, and understood why his mother wasn't always there. He began to understand why, sometimes, when his parents would come home, weary and sucked dry of life, did not even look at each other though they supported one another, then Mikoto would force the energy out of her to spare her two indulgent sons a glance and one of her sunny-warm smiles. He understood why the seemingly cold Fugaku, if, at times, the strict father would come home drugged with some mind-bugging chemical (all of them doubted it was alcohol), he would pull his sons into a rare embrace, tightly and full of love, and dearly whisper to them how he loved them so much and how he wanted to be with them for as long as he wanted to, if he could, and how he wanted him to die first before his sons and his wife could follow _soon_ after.

At the end, Sasuke understood why they weren't allowed to go out. His mother and brother had always told him that "Young Uchihas are special, so they need to be _hidden_," but as soon as he turned five, his father had openly and firmly _ordered_ him not to ever leave their home.

_"Our bosses might come out and make you work for them."_

_"But," Sasuke argued, "That means more money, right?"_

_His father smiled grimly. "And it means more pain."_

He partly valued his father's words. Though not fully, because his young, untainted mind didn't want to buy the part that said _more pain_.

He was still confused as time—time enough for him to ponder on what he should do, alone at home, when it seemed as though he was the only person alive in the whole wide, wild world—passed, but he didn't disobey his father. He was as curious as his older brother about their parents' _work_, but he was not as brash to ever cross the limits. He knew he shouldn't disobey his father. Not out of fear; not out of the pride of showing him who the better son was. Sasuke didn't know what _exactly_, but he felt that there were _things_ out there that meant danger to their family.

Sasuke wasn't like Itachi. Sasuke tried not to mind the pain their beloved mother screamed of every night, though he would be the first one rushing to her; Itachi didn't go to her as quickly, but he was, Sasuke knew, _far_ more troubled.

So during the two years after the time that Fugaku Uchiha told his youngest (and last) son _not to ever go out_, Sasuke watched his silent and aloof older brother escape every night, jump out of the window, and disappear with the shadows. And soon every night would turn into every morning, and soon, everyday, without a warning. Itachi would wordlessly go out, wearing his oldest and most ruined clothes, bringing nothing but a bottle of water. And when one day Sasuke finally had enough of his brother's silence, he asked, _"Where are you off to?"_

Itachi remained silent, not even looking at him. Sasuke thought of letting go of the subject, but when Itachi had opened the door, his velvety voice—or words, he couldn't decipher which—pierced through him.

_"Off to __**work**__."_

**Work.**

At first, Sasuke wondered, what kind of work? And what work requires you to bring a _water bottle_ and wear your ugliest clothes? Was it the same work as their parents'?

And Sasuke noticed. Their parents knew of Itachi's escapes for _work_, but did nothing. Sasuke knew why—they couldn't stop their eldest child. He wasn't stubborn; he was controlling. It wasn't like he didn't listen; they just didn't bother to talk.

_"It's destiny."_

The way their parents—or at least, Fugaku, as their mother Mikoto's workdays had swayed to a minimum then to nothing—looked like zombies after _work_, how their eyes would look so tired and lifeless like dead fishes (then brighten up as soon as Sasuke began talking and hugging each of them), and the times he noticed how their bodies seemed to sleep but were stiff, rigid of alertness; these things showed up in the most unexpected manner, to the most unpredictable person.

_"My brother, my brother, my brother—"_

Itachi.

Tired, weakened, drugged.

**Poisoned**. Experimented on.

_"I'm home."_

The two years passed. Sasuke was seven years old, a full child, having matured but still untainted, while twelve-year-old Itachi had grown colder and more distant to his younger brother than ever, after having gone out and done _work_.

Then, Itachi came home one day, and to Sasuke's surprise, he still remembered at that time when he was only barely a year old, what he imagined his older brother to be like: _a guardian __**angel**_.

Because Itachi Uchiha, along with his new bloodshot red eyes, had _wings_.

A dirty, grayish white, feathery and fluffy, fourteen-feet wide—and it didn't seem implanted, as he moved gracefully and easily around their house, like he had been _born_ with wings. Itachi had to bend it once he had entered their home, half-naked, and the thought of Itachi walking around outside looking like _that_ was too insignificant to bother Sasuke. But he came in weakly, coughing a bit, before greeting Sasuke—with a **smile**—as if finally noticing and realizing, 'Oh, I have a brother!'

A thought kept repeating in Sasuke's mind like a seizure.

_Itachi had fucking __**wings**__._

"I'm the guardian angel you've always dreamed about, huh, Sasuke?"

_Because Itachi had to go to fucking __**work**__, where Sasuke was sure he had to be drugged and fed with some dirty medicine and experimented and played with like a fucking __**toy**__—_

"You're no guardian angel," He looked at his brother blankly. "You're my sad and lost older brother."

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto_.

_FINALLY. This'd been rotting away in my documents since last week of April—along with the general plot/details planning!  
>EDITED: Okay. Sorry for the misleading labelled characters (Sasuke U.Sakura H.) but I've changed it. Let me specify what kind of pairings there will be here: ShikaTema, NejiTen, _one-sided _SasuKarin (I think you know who), mild NaruSaku (if you're into it, though it can be mistaken as deep friendship) and mild Akatsuki pairings. OKAAAY? So no flaming the pairings anymore, please? Thank you to the anonymous reviewer '_somebody_' for telling me! :)__  
>Thanks for reading!<br>ConCrit accepted!_


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